Reviews and Comments

J. J. Zepfanman @...readers

zepfanman@ramblingreaders.org

Joined 5 months, 4 weeks ago

Non-fiction, classics, religion/atheism, science, sci-fi, to name just a few book topics I gravitate toward.

Adventurer, Kentucky and beyond. zepfanman.com 4K movie collector, music lover, and disc golfer. Info tech for work. Celebrate diversity! He/him.

For those federating, this is my BookWyrm account. Mastodon: @zepfanman@discuss.systems

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Best American Science and Nature Writing 2022 (2022, HarperCollins Publishers) 4 stars

A collection of the best science and nature articles written in 2021, selected by guest …

An important retrospective of 2021 writings

4 stars

I ran across this book at the library, and I'll definitely be seeking out the 2023 edition when it's released in October.

I really appreciate editor Ayana Elizabeth Johnson's commitment to including more diverse writers than the "white and coastal collection of pieces from highbrow publications."

I didn't read all of the writings in this book. They were all published in 2021, so I felt like some were already out of date. I simply skimmed the t.o.c. and picked the ones that looked the most interesting. I've already commented on Bookwyrm about the pieces by Wells, Kaplan, and Malloy.

I focused on the "Futures We Could Have" section, as I was most interested in solutions. The final piece on indigenous conservation efforts (by Sengupta, Einhorn, and Andreoni) was a good way to cap off the readings. "Researchers have found that biodiversity protection often works best when local communities have a …

The Tao Te Ching (Hardcover, 1999, HarperCollins) 4 stars

A short but lasting document

4 stars

I had an enjoyable week listening to the Tao Te Ching (道德經 in Traditional Chinese, lit. "Way Virtue Scripture"), Stephen Mitchell's 1989 audiobook version. Like many ancient writings, it has changed drastically since it was first "compiled" into 81 short chapters, around 250 BCE. I'll be researching more about the textual history of the book, particularly since the oldest version was found in 1993, after Mitchell's version was published.

As for the subject matter, "The tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao." - Chapter 1, line 1. #TaoTeChing #DaoDeJing

Gender Queer (GraphicNovel, 2020, Oni-Lion Forger Publishing Group) 5 stars

In 2014, Maia Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns, thought that a comic of reading statistics …

Review of 'Gender Queer' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

An impressive "graphic memoir." One of the few comic-book-style memoirs I've ever read, and one that I couldn't put down. I'm a slow reader and it only took me an hour or two to get through it. The illustrations are top-notch and the writing is engaging, as well. An important work that everyone should read and learn from.

Personal note on the research mentioned: Touching a Nerve, by Patricia S. Churchland.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (AudiobookFormat, 2017, Blackstone Audiobooks, Blackstone Audio, Inc.) 3 stars

Review of 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Armitage/Wallace audiobook review. I did not realize that this had both the Armitage and original-language versions of the audiobook. I saw the 2021 film last week and was inspired to read the book. As Gawain was in the green chapel, I kept wondering what else could happen in the story, being less than halfway through. And then it concluded and Bill Wallace started the 2nd half of the book in an incomprehensible tongue - I did not finish that half, since it would require some language training.

As for the story, it was more straightforward than the film. There was a lot of hunting in the middle of the story that did not interest me, but the overall quest and poetry was enjoyable to hear.